Diagnostic performance of dried blood spot hepatitis C virus core antigen testing for hepatitis C screening: A systematic review and meta-analysis.

Dried blood spot (DBS) sampling is increasingly used for hepatitis C virus (HCV) screening. HCVcAg testing offers a faster and more streamlined approach to diagnosing HCV infection. We conducted a systematic review and meta-analysis to assess the diagnostic performance of the Abbott ARCHITECT HCV Ag assay for screening active HCV infection using DBS samples.

Sustained Long-Term Decline in Anti-HCV Neutralizing Antibodies in HIV/HCV-Coinfected Patients Five Years after HCV Therapy: A Retrospective Study.

This study evaluated titers and amplitudes of anti-E2 antibodies (anti-E2-Abs) and neutralizing antibodies against hepatitis C virus (HCV; anti-HCV-nAbs) in HIV/HCV-coinfected individuals over five years after successful HCV treatment completion. We retrospectively analyzed 76 HIV/HCV-coinfected patients achieving sustained virologic response post-HCV treatment. Plasma levels of anti-E2-Abs and anti-HCV-nAbs against five HCV genotypes (Gt1a, Gt1b, Gt2a, Gt3a, and Gt4a) were determined using ELISA and microneutralization assays, respectively.

Low peripheral blood chemokine (C-C motif) ligand 5 and tumor necrosis factor α gene expression is associated with unfavorable progression of respiratory syncytial virus bronchiolitis in infants.

Objectives: We aimed to analyze whether the expression of inflammatory and antiviral genes in respiratory syncytial virus (RSV)-infected infants' peripheral blood is associated with bronchiolitis progression.

Methods: We conducted a prospective study on 117 infants between 2015 and 2023. The expression levels of nine genes were quantified by quantitative polymerase chain reaction.

The interaction of the ribotoxin α-sarcin with complex model lipid vesicles.

Fungal ribotoxins are extracellular RNases that inactivate ribosomes by cleaving a single phosphodiester bond at the universally conserved sarcin-ricin loop of the large rRNA. However, to reach the ribosomes, they need to cross the plasma membrane. It is there where these toxins show their cellular specificity, being especially active against tumoral or virus-infected cells.

Production and characterization of monoclonal antibodies for the detection of the hepatitis C core antigen.

Despite highly effective treatments to cure hepatitis C, almost 80% of chronically HCV-infected people are not treated, as they are unaware of their infection. Diagnostic rates and linkage to care must be substantially improved to reverse this situation. The HCV core antigen (HCVcAg) is a highly conserved protein that can be detected in the blood of HCV-infected patients and indicates active infection.

Sticholysin recognition of ceramide-phosphoethanolamine.

Actinoporins are pore-forming toxins produced by sea anemones. They exert their activity by binding to the membranes of target cells. There, they oligomerize, forming cation-selective pores, and inducing cell death by osmotic shock.

Determination of the boundary lipids of sticholysins using tryptophan quenching.

Sticholysins are α-pore-forming toxins produced by the sea-anemone Stichodactyla helianthus. These toxins exert their activity by forming pores on sphingomyelin-containing membranes. Recognition of sphingomyelin by sticholysins is required to start the process of pore formation.

Sea Anemones, Actinoporins, and Cholesterol.

Spanish or Spanish-speaking scientists represent a remarkably populated group within the scientific community studying pore-forming proteins. Some of these scientists, ourselves included, focus on the study of actinoporins, a fascinating group of metamorphic pore-forming proteins produced within the venom of several sea anemones. These toxic proteins can spontaneously transit from a water-soluble fold to an integral membrane ensemble because they specifically recognize sphingomyelin in the membrane.

Sticholysin I-II oligomerization in the absence of membranes.

Sticholysins are pore-forming toxins produced by the sea anemone Stichodactyla helianthus. When they encounter a sphingomyelin-containing membrane, these proteins bind to it and oligomerize, a process that ends in pore formation. Mounting evidence indicates that StnII can favour the activity of StnI.